Round Rock address
The Round Rock address was a speech given by General Armond Braddock of the ISDF to the first class of recruits to the organisation shortly after its formation. It takes its name from the site of its delivery on Titan. The speech was reproduced in the ISDF Field Manual for later recruits as Transcript A0021. Content Braddock opens the speech by stressing the importance of the ISDF in defending Earth, humanity and the solar system against alien invasion, describing it as "the most powerful fighting force in the world". He describes how each of the recruits, drawn from the world's most elite forces, have done something to distinguish from their fellows on Earth and were only accepted into the ISDF after years of observation. Between them, the recruits have been trained in a variety of fields that go beyond those typically employed by terrestrial militaries, including guerrilla warfare and terrorism, and Braddock claims these skills will be vital to the ISDF's mission. He goes on to impress the requirement for secrecy on the recruits, claiming that the people of Earth can never know of the ISDF's existence without also realizing and living in fear of the threats the ISDF exists to defend them against. He tells the recruits that any pledges of loyalty they may have previously taken are void in the face of the greater good and instead demands their loyalty to the ISDF and to himself, claiming that the ISDF is above politics and bureaucracy and exists to do things earthbound governments and militaries cannot. After once again reminding the recruits of the demands of their appointment to the ISDF, Braddock's speech takes a darker turn. He warns the recruits that any and all threats faced by the ISDF should be treated as absolute existential threats to the human race, and that any opponent they may face is to be given no mercy. He claims any alien force they may encounter will be bent on the utter destruction of humanity and that the ISDF must respond in kind, and that extinction would be the only consequence of failure. Analysis The Round Rock address exploits numerous propagandist techniques, flattering the audience and instilling patriotism at its start before switching to instilling fear, uncertainty and doubt towards the end. Along the way Braddock takes advantage of the techniques of pensée unique and demonizing the enemy, constructing an imagined and nebulous alien threat as an example of "fear ideology" to deflect suspicion and keep the ISDF from self-reflection. The jingoistic and xenophobic tone of the later parts of the speech suggest that Braddock may also be using it to reinforce the scapegoating of the Scion Convergence as Furies to obscure the existence of Project Pedigree. Braddock's demand of loyalty, aside from reflecting his arrogance, even hints at depicting the ISDF as a cult of personality, and the anti-bureaucratic and authoritarian tones of the speech may imply that his ultimate autocratic aspirations were fully developed by the time of the ISDF's foundation. Appearances *Battlezone II Manual Category:Media